I've come 500 miles just to see
your halo
Come from St. Petersburg, Scarlett and me
When I open my eyes, I was blind as can be
And to give a man luck(2), he must fall in the sea
And she wants you to steal and get caught
For she loves you for all that you are not
When you're falling down, falling down
When you're falling down, falling down, falling down
You forget all the roses don't
come around on Sunday
She's not gonna choose you for standing so tall
Go on take a swig(3) of that poison(4) and like it
And now don't ask for silverware, don't ask for nothing
Go on and put your ear to the ground
You know you'll be hearing that sound, falling down
You're falling down, falling down
Falling down, falling down
Falling down
When you're falling down, falling down, falling down
Go on down see that wrecking ball
come swing in on her now
Everyone knew that hotel was a goner
They broke all the windows and took all the door knobs
And they hauled it away in a couple of days
Now someone yelled timber, take off your hat
We all look smaller down here on the ground
When you're falling down, falling down, falling down
Falling down, falling down
Falling down
Someone's falling down, falling
down, falling down
Falling down, falling down
Falling down
Written by: Tom Waits(1)
Published by: Jalma Music, Admin. by Ackee Music, Inc. (ASCAP), © 1988
Official release: "Big Time", © Island Visual Arts Inc. (P) Island
Records Inc., 1988
Arrangement and lyrics published in "Tom
Waits - Beautiful Maladies" (Amsco Publications, 1997)
Further reading: Big
Time full story
Known covers:
Fjorton Sånger. Bad Liver & Hans Brustna Hjärtan. 1989. Nonstop Records
(1989), City Records (re-release May, 1993) NSM 33-15 (in Swedish: "Fall
på knä")
Temptation. Holly Cole, 1995. Blue Note Records/ Capital (Japan/ USA)
Anywhere I Lay My Head. Scarlett Johansson. May 20, 2008. Atco Records
Notes:
(1) Falling
Down:
- Tom Waits (1988):
"Falling Down." That was cut in the studio. That's kind
of.. Song I was doing on the road but we never got a good take of it.
So, I got home, rather than bring a band out from New York to Los
Angeles, I worked with people who were already there: Larry Taylor and
Fred Tackett, and Richie Hayworth, so it... We put that on there, too,
so, you know, you can get a subscription to Playboy if you send in $5
and eh, I'll send you some Spencer steaks, we're having a contest..."
(Source: "Mixed Bag, WNEW New
York" Date: October, 1988)
(2) Luck, give a man: Orig. "Give a man luck and throw him into the sea". Meaning that his luck will save him even in the greatest extremity. Referring to Jonah and Arion, who were cast into the sea, but carried safely to land, the one by a whale and the other by a dolphin. (Source: "The First Hypertext Edition of The Dictionary of Phrase and Fable", E. Cobham Brewer. © 1997-99 Bibliomania.com Ltd)
(3) Swig n.: A swallow, gulp, or mouthful, esp. of whisky (Source: Dictionary Of American Slang, Wentworth/ Flexner). Also mentioned in "Burma Shave" (Why don't you have another swig, and pass that car if you're so brave)
(4) Poison: n. [19C+] an ironic term for drink in general; thus [1910+] (Aus.) poison-shop, a public house (name your poison). (Source: "Cassell's Dictionary Of Slang". Jonathon Green. Cassel & Co., 1998. ISBN: 0-304-35167-9)